Home | Session 5 | Marine Terraces Background
Marine Terraces Along the Santa Cruz County Coastline
Background Information and Instructions
Marine terraces are features characteristic of active coastlines and are very well-formed along the California coastline near Davenport, just north of Santa Cruz. As marine terraces become elevated, they are eroded by streams so the marine terraces are no longer a continuous, nearly flat sheet. However, you can find remnants of the same marine terrace present on your topographic maps of this part of the coastline.
Step 1
Shade as many remnants of a once-continuous terrace as you can find on each map. (Hint: the terrace was elevated roughly the same amount everywhere along the coastline.Step 2
The map shows evidence for marine terraces at other elevations, i.e., terraces that are older or younger than the one you shaded in Step 1. Shade in or label remnants of one such terrace. Is this terrace older or younger than the one you shaded in Step 1? Why do you think so?
updated March 4, 2002
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